Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington

Re: Community Property

Assuming that your participate towards the upkeep of the community and have not signed some form of separate property agreement, there is a presumption in Washington State that all property obtained during marriage, as well as property brought in to the marriage but commingled or financed with community funds is considered community property. However, to play it safe, and assuming that both of you would like everything either of you own to be considered as community property (except for credit purposes), you may want to consider executing a community property agreement. With this document both spouses could acknowledge that all property is community in nature. Alternatively, you could both sign a separate property agreement that would list the house as community property but other assets as separate or community depending on the asset. This would be an agreement between spouses -- the bank would not have to know but it would bind both spouses. I'd recommend having an attorney assist you in this matter and you can probably expect to pay anywhere from $200-$500 for such documents and counsel.